This family owns 95 percent of Chicago's most sacred institutions, the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. The head of the family is Joe Ricketts, who has four children, Pete, Tom, Laura, and Todd. Pete has served as the 40th governor of Nebraska since 2015. The other three kids sit on the Cubs' board of directors.
Joe Ricketts's great ability to build and run businesses made him one of the wealthiest people in Wyoming. His net worth exceeds $3.9 billion, making him the richest person in Little Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Who is Joe Ricketts?
Joe Ricketts is an American entrepreneur, owner of the Chicago Cubs, and a founder of TD Ameritrade.
Joe Ricketts was born and raised in Nebraska City, Nebraska, the son of Florence Ricketts and Don Platte Ricketts. Don was an exterminator, a carpenter, a farmer, and very strict with his children.
His dad had a great work ethic and taught him the value of hard work. In third grade, Joe got his first job cleaning stools at the county courthouse. Ricketts received his bachelor's degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1968. To pay his tuition, he worked as a janitor and later found a job in a hospital.
In 1975, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission deregulated broker commissions, Joe co-founded a discount brokerage firm. His firm allowed investors to buy and sell securities for lower commissions.
TD Ameritrade became a powerful discount brokerage firm.
In the 1980s and 1990s, TD Ameritrade pioneered several 'firsts,' leveraging technology to make investing easier, faster, and cheaper.
- The company offered the first touch-tone phone trading in 1988.
- The company executed its first online trade in 1994.
- TD Ameritrade combined various brokerage units and became a powerful discount brokerage firm.
- TD Ameritrade became public in 1997.
Currently, TD Ameritrade delivers investing and trading services for 11 million client accounts and manages more than $1 trillion in assets. In addition, it has over 6,000 independent registered investment advisors, and the company is responsible for executing more than 500,000 trades daily.
The family bought 95% of the Chicago Cubs.
In 2009, the family acquired a 95-percent controlling interest in Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field and 25 percent of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.
As soon as they finalized the deal, they had to decide on renovating Wrigley Field. They wanted to add necessary modern upgrades to the ballpark without impacting its historical significance and feel.
Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade in 2019.
Joe Ricketts retired from the TD Ameritrade board of directors in 2011 to focus on other projects and philanthropy. In 2019, competitor Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade in a $26 billion deal.
As part of his philanthropy projects, he funded the construction of a religious silent retreat center in Nebraska, the Cloisters on the Platte.
Joe Ricketts is considered a powerful megadonor of the Republican Party. However, he was shocked that President Donald Trump endorsed Charles Herbster against Pete Ricketts' wishes to become Nebraska's governor.
If you had Joe Ricketts's money, what causes would you support?
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